What is an Adjective?

An adjective is a word that tells us more about a noun or a pronoun.

An adjective describes or modifies a noun.
Adjective lists that follow each topic are only partial ones.
Three Questions.
Adjectives usually answer three questions about the nouns they describe:

1. What kind of?

 I found a red rose in the cave.
 What kind of rose? Red

2. How many?
 Three tickets, please.
 How many tickets? Three.

3. Which one(s)?
 I would eat these figs.
 Which figs? These.
Kinds of adjectives.
1. Demonstrative adjective
This, that, these, those are called demonstrative adjectives. They point out nouns.
They always answer the question which one?
In the following example, demonstrative adjectives are shown in color.
 Lets play this game and later watch that movie.

Remember that this, that, these, those can also act as demonstrative pronouns in which
case they are not followed by nouns (as demonstrative adjectives are), but take the
place of nouns.
In the following example, demonstrative pronouns are shown in color.
 Lets play this and later watch that.

2. Common adjective is just a simple, regular adjective. It describes a noun in a

general way.
sharp, flexible, hot, red, hidden, dripping, nice, huge.

3. Proper adjective is derived from a proper noun and is capitalized.

Proper noun Proper adjective

China Chinese
California Californian
Mars Martian
Spain Spanish
Christianity Christian
Japan Japanese
Hollywood Hollywood
Texas Texas

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Sometimes, as in last two examples, a proper noun does not change at all to become a
proper adjective.
Where an adjective goes in a sentence.
Usually an adjective comes in front of the noun it is describing.
 The big balloon floated over the dark sea.

An adjective can also come after a linking verb, like to be, and describe the subject of
the sentence. In this case it is called predicate adjective.
 The balloon was dark.

Adjectives - Comparison

Fill in the missing words into the gaps.

Positive Comparative Superlative
clear
dark
good
fresh
fit
big
deep
sweet
high
expensive more expensive Most expensive

hard
dark
jealous more jealous Most jealous
independent
incredible
light
obvious
nice
painful

northern

hopeful
angry Angrier Angriest
curious
deaf

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empty Emptier Emptiest
desperate
concrete
western
light
liberal
bad worse worst
little less least
farther farthest
far
further furthest
Older Oldest
old
elder Eldest
Much/many more most

Fill in the correct form of the words in brackets (comparative or

superlative).

1. My house is (big) …… ……….. than yours.

2. This flower is (beautiful) ……… ………. than that one.
3. This is the (interesting) ………………. book I have ever read.
4. Non-smokers usually live (long) ……………….. than
smokers.
5. Which is the (dangerous) ………………….. animal in the
world?
6. A holiday by the sea is (good) …… …………. than a holiday
in the mountains.
7. It is strange but often a coke is (expensive) …………………
than a beer.
8. Who is the (rich) …………………… woman on earth?
9. The weather this summer is even (bad) ………………… than
last summer.
10. He was the (clever) ……………….. thief of all.

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Adjectives can be identified using a number of formal criteria. However, we
may begin by saying that they typically describe an attribute of a noun:

cold weather
large windows
violent storms

Some adjectives can be identified by their endings. Typical adjective endings

include:

-able/-ible achievable, capable, illegible, remarkable

-al biographical, functional, internal, logical

-ful beautiful, careful, grateful, harmful

-ic cubic, manic, rustic, terrific

-ive attractive, dismissive, inventive, persuasive

-less breathless, careless, groundless, restless

-ous courageous, dangerous, disastrous, fabulous

However, a large number of very common adjectives cannot be identified in

this way. They do not have typical adjectival form:

bad distant quiet

bright elementary real
clever red
cold good silent
common great simple
complete honest strange
hot
dark main wicked
deep morose wide

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 difficult old young

As this list shows, adjectives are formally very diverse. However, they have a number
of characteristics which we can use to identify them.

Characteristics of Adjectives
Adjectives can take a modifying word, such as very, extremely, or less, before them:

very cold weather

extremely large windows
less violent storms

Here, the modifying word locates the adjective on a scale of comparison, at a

position higher or lower than the one indicated by the adjective alone.

This characteristic is known as GRADABILITY. Most adjectives are gradable,

though if the adjective already denotes the highest position on a scale, then it
is non-gradable:

my main reason for coming ~*my very main reason for coming

the principal role in the play ~*the very principal role in the play

As well as taking modifying words like very and extremely, adjectives also take
different forms to indicate their position on a scale of comparison:

big bigger biggest

The lowest point on the scale is known as the POSITIVE form, the middle
point is known as the COMPARATIVE form, and the highest point is known as
the SUPERLATIVE form. Here are some more examples:

Positive Comparative Superlative

dark darker darkest

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 new newer newest

old older oldest

young younger youngest

In most cases, the comparative is formed by adding -er , and the superlative
is formed by adding -est, to the absolute form. However, a number of very
common adjectives are irregular in this respect:

Positive Comparative Superlative

good better best

bad worse worst

far farther farthest

Some adjectives form the comparative and superlative using more and most
respectively:

Positive Comparative Superlative

important more important most important

miserable more miserable most miserable

recent more recent most recent

Exercise

In the following sentences, the highlighted words are adjectives.

1. His new car was stolen.

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 a. Gradable
b. Absolute
2. Something smells good.
a. Gradable
b. Absolute
3. Their restaurant is very successful.
a. Gradable
b. Absolute
4. What an unbelievable story!
a. Gradable
b. Absolute
5. My uncle is an atomic scientist.
a. Gradable
b. Absolute

Attributive and Predicative Adjectives

Most adjectives can occur both before and after a noun:

the blue sea ~ the sea is blue

the old man ~ the man is old

happy children ~ the children are happy

Adjectives in the first position - before the noun - are called ATTRIBUTIVE
adjectives. Those in the second position - after the noun - are called
PREDICATIVE adjectives. Notice that predicative adjectives do not occur
immediately after the noun. Instead, they follow a verb.

Sometimes an adjective does occur immediately after a noun, especially in

certain institutionalized expressions:

the Governor General

the Princess Royal
times past

We refer to these as POSTPOSITIVE adjectives. Postposition is obligatory when the

adjective modifies a pronoun:

something useful
everyone present
those responsible

Postpositive adjectives are commonly found together with superlative, attributive

adjectives:

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 the shortest route possible
the worst conditions imaginable
the best hotel available

Most adjectives can freely occur in both the attributive and the predicative
positions. However, a small number of adjectives are restricted to one position
only. For example, the adjective main (the main reason) can only occur in the
attributive position (predicative: *the reason is main). Conversely, the
adjective afraid (the child was afraid) can only occur predicatively (attributive:
*an afraid child).

Exercise
Assign the highlighted adjectives in each of the following examples to one of
the three positions.

a. Attributive
1. The green door opened slowly. b. Predicative
c. Postpositive
a. Attributive
2. This stretch of water is dangerous. b. Predicative
c. Postpositive
a. Attributive
3. The share-holders present voted against the Chairman. b. Predicative
c. Postpositive
a. Attributive
4. Jan feels ill. b. Predicative
c. Postpositive
a. Attributive
5. A larger than normal pay increase was awarded to the nurses. b. Predicative
c. Postpositive

Inherent and Non-inherent Adjectives

Most attributive adjectives denote some attribute of the noun which they modify. For
instance, the phrase a red car may be said to denote a car which is red. In fact most
adjective-noun sequences such as this can be loosely reformulated in a similar way:

an old man ~a man who is old

difficult questions ~questions which are difficult

round glasses ~glasses which are round

This applies equally to postpositive adjectives:

something understood ~something which is understood

the people responsible ~the people who are responsible

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In each case the adjective denotes an attribute or quality of the noun, as the
reformulations show. Adjectives of this type are known as INHERENT adjectives. The
attribute they denote is, as it were, inherent in the noun which they modify.

However, not all adjectives are related to the noun in the same way. For
example, the adjective small in a small businessman does not describe an
attribute of the businessman. It cannot be reformulated as a businessman
who is small. Instead, it refers to a businessman whose business is small. We
refer to adjectives of this type as NON-INHERENT adjectives. They refer less
directly to an attribute of the noun than inherent adjectives do. Here are some
more examples, showing the contrast between inherent and non-inherent:

Inherent Non-inherent

distant hills distant relatives

a complete chapter a complete idiot

a heavy burden a heavy smoker

an old man an old friend